General Assessment Information 

Assessment Criteria

Assessment at Macquarie University is standards-based, as outlined in the Assessment Policy. This means that your work will be assessed against clear criteria, and these criteria will be made available when the assessment tasks are released to you on iLearn. 

Submission of Assessments

Your two major assignments must be submitted online through Turnitin. Links for the submission of each assignment will be available on iLearn.​ Your quizzes are to be completed on iLearn, and your exam must be sat in person during the formal examination period. The due dates for all assessment tasks are not negotiable. If you have commitments that will significantly impact your study during the session then you must plan for this in advance as part of an effective individual study plan and you may need to contact the unit convenor for advice. 

Hurdle Requirement

A hurdle requirement is an activity for which a minimum level of performance or participation is a condition of passing the unit (see the Assessment Policy). While we do not have a formal hurdle requirement in this unit, weekly attendance of the workshops is required to satisfactorily complete the assessment tasks. For internal students this means attending and fully completing your scheduled classes each week.

Marking of Assessments

Your two major assignments will be marked through Turnitin and feedback will be noted on the assignment. Do not submit your assignments via email or in hard copy. Your grades will be returned using the Grades Report on iLearn. Grades from your quizzes and the exam will also be made available on iLearn.

We aim to return your assignments with feedback within two to three weeks of the date that you submit your assignment, and before your next assignment is due. We appreciate your patience and will advise you through iLearn when your marked assignments and feedback are available for viewing.

Penalties for Late Assessments

The penalty for late submission of assessments in this unit is ten percent (10 %) of the assessment value per day, calculated from the due time and date. This means that if the assignment is worth a total of 30 marks (or 30 % of the unit) you will lose 3 marks for each day late. This is a hefty penalty designed to make you aware of the importance of organising yourself around assessment due dates. The penalty will be applied over weekdays and weekends unless you have been granted an extension by the lecturer responsible for the assignment prior to the due date.

Extensions for Assessments

To obtain an extension for an assessment task, you will need to follow the formal process as outlined in the Special Consideration Policy, and you must provide appropriate supporting documentation (e.g. medical certificate - see advice for Special Consideration requests). The final decision regarding the granting of an extension and/or a late penalty lies with the unit convenor/lecturer responsible for the assignment. Permission for extension must be sought well before the due date unless this is absolutely impossible. Let us know of problems in advance or as soon as possible, not after the event: we are likely to be much more sympathetic and flexible in our requirements if you follow this advice.

Exams

Details of exam conditions and timetables can be found at the Exams and Results portal. It is very important to note that the final exam period includes weekdays and weekends and all students (including international exchange students) are expected to present themselves for the exam at the time and place designated in the exam timetable. The timetable will be available in Draft form approximately eight weeks before the commencement of the exams and in Final form four weeks before the commencement of exams.

For unavoidable disruptions during exams, you should apply for Special Consideration as soon as possible. If a Supplementary Examination is granted as a result of the Special Consideration process, the exam time will be scheduled after the conclusion of the official examination period and you will receive an individual notification one week prior to the exam with the exact date and time of the Supplementary Examination. Note that it is Macquarie University policy not to set early examinations - all students are expected to ensure that they are available until the final day of the official examination period. You are required to download your room and seat number from the exam website before the exam.

WORKSHOP FORMAT

The unit will be delivered as a 5 hour workshop, incorporating practical, lecture, and workshop components, as timetabled.

These workshops will convey to the class the key concepts of the unit using a combination of mini-lectures, readings, presentations, and practical work.  Readings will be a combination of research papers, and extracts from textbooks. The readings, and workshop attendance and participation, are essential as the content covers core components of the course, and is examinable. A rubric for assessment will be distributed in class.

TEXTBOOK AND TECHNOLOGY USED

The recommended textbook for the unit is “The Solid Earth (2nd Ed)” by Fowler. The book "Global Tectonics" by Kearey, Klepeis & Vine is a useful text and worth considering.The unit also has a WEB site which can be found through the Online Learning @ MQ WEBSITE at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au/. This site contains information such as copies of colour images, copies of overheads and PowerPoint’s shown in class and copies of the practicals that we do in class. The WEB site will also allow access to the digital version of the lectures recorded through the iLecture system. As well, this site will access the on-line quizzes that will need to be completed during the semester. At the start of the year you should be issued with a username and password to access all the WEB sites available for the units you have taken. This will get you into the front page of the GEOS385 WEB site.

Below is a list of references that may be helpful in expanding certain aspects of the unit.

REFERENCES

QC806.A515 Anderson D.L., Theory of the Earth, 1989

QE501.A7513/1984 Artyushkov E.V ., Geodynamics

QB501.N47 Beatty J.K. & Chaikin A. (Eds), The New Solar System (3rd ed.), 1990

QE509.B75 Bott M.P., The interior of the Earth (2nd ed.), 1982*

QE501.4.P35.B88 Butler R.F., Paleomagnetism, 1991*

QE527.7 .C66/2001 Condie K.C., Mantle Plumes and their record in Earth History, 2001

QC806.C65 Cook A.H., Physics of the Earth and Planets, 1973

QE511.4.C683/1986 Cox A. & Hart R.B., Plate tectonics: how it works, 1986

QE509.4.D38/1999 Davies G.F.,Dynamic Earth, Plates, Plumes and Mantle Convection, 1999

QC806.D39 De Bremaecker J-C, Geophysics: The earth’s Interior, 1985

QB501.N18 Dermott S.F. (Ed), The origin of the Solar System, 1977

QE501.E67/1990 Ernst W.G., The Dynamic Planet

QC806.F625 Fowler C.M.R., The Solid Earth, 1990*

QC806.F625/2005 Fowler C.M.R., The Solid Earth (2nd Ed), 2005

QC827.I7 Irving E., Paleomagnetism, 1964

QE509.E234/1998 Jackson I, The Earth's Mantle, 1998

QE509.J27/1992 Jacobs J.A. Deep Interior of the Earth, 1992

QE509.E232/2000 Karato S. et al, Earth's Deep Interior, 2000

QE511.4.K43/1996 Kearey P. & Vine F.J., Global Tectonics (2 Ed), 1996*

QE511.4.K43/2009 Kearey P., Klepeis K.A. & Vine F.J., Global Tectonics

QE35.E18 McElhinny M.W., The Earth, its Origin, Structure and Evolution, 1979

QE501.4.P35.M35/2000 McElhinny, M.W.& McFadden, P., Paleomagnetism: continents and oceans, 2000

QC816.M4 Merrill R.T. & McElhinny M.W., The Earth’s Magnetic Field, 1983

QC816.M47/1996Merrill R.T., McElhinny M.W. &McFadden P.L. The magnetic field of the Earth: palaeomagnetism, the core, and the deep mantle, 1996

QE511.4.H57/2000 Richards et al, The History and Dynamics of Global Plate Motions, 2000

QE501.S3/1982 Scheidegger A.E., Principles of Geodynamics

QC806.S54/1997 Sleep N.H. & Fujita K., Principles of Geophysics, 1997

QE26.2.C35 Smith D.G. (Ed), The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Earth Sciences

QC806.S65 Stacey F.D., Physics of the Earth (2nd & 3rd eds.), 1977 & 1992

QE511.44.G46 Summerfield M.A., Geomorphology and Global Tectonics, 2000

QE501.T83 Turcotte D.L. & Schubert G., Geodynamics, 1982*

QE340.B55Veevers J. J., Billion-year earth history of Australia and neighbours in Gondwanaland, 2000*

QE340.B552Veevers J.J., Billion-year earth history of Australia *7-Day Loan